To Love A Shinobi: Momo's Story
by Ashurii-san
Summary: Princess Momo's parents have been murdered out a greedy attempt to have the throne stolen. She is advised to run away to the local Hidden Village where a Jounin will serve as her bodyguard. This is when she meets Kakashi and crew.. Oh? Momo likes Come C
1. Default Chapter

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To Love A Shinobi:

Momo's Story

The princess sighed, sitting in her balcony. It was late morning, and she was sitting in her favourite chair. She yawned, looking over the balcony at the vast kingdom in which she had bestowed upon her as the only heir. Below was the courtyard, then the village, and way yonder was nothing but green fields and hills. Beyond that was a forest. She didn't know the happenings of there, but she remembers in one of the stories her nanny had told her that there was a village there. There were many villages just like that one, all of different elements and had highly trained ninja at their call and beckon. She rolled her eyes. What pathetic stories. Like they were really true. 

Okay, yeah maybe true like centuries ago but what ninja existed these days? That's why they had knights and guards. Everything was perfect in her world, in her shallow little mind. Momo got up from her seat and looked around, walking back into her room. It was the average aristocrat's room, large and soft. She had stuffed animals everywhere, decorating it. Her bed was a soft pink with a canopy over it. The satin fabric ran down the canopy practically hiding her bed. She had stuffed, furry animals decorating her bed as well. The servants had made it after she had awakened. They were always there, and she was thankful for it. They were her only friends. Walking through and sitting at her vanity she looked at herself. Next to the vanity was a bookcase filled with books about history and science, though few with fairytales and romance. Those were her favourite, because they invisioned a world completely different from her own. A world in which she longed for. 

She stared at her reflection. Why wasn't she a happy princess like all the others she'd seen in the pictures? Her soft, round face had a frown on it that seemed almost painted on, but so real. She shook her head, blinking a bit and sighed. What a ridiculous thought. What would her mother say? Picking up her brush she stared back at her image. As the bristles entered her hair someone bursted in through the door behind her. 

"Your majesty!" They cried. She looked at them through the mirror--their expression was of pure shock. She turned around quickly and stood up. 

"What is it??" Momo asked. 

"... News has it," the servant wailed, tears beginning to stream down their eyes, "That their highnesses have been murdered in their sleep!"

Momo gasped, hearing the dreadful news. She felt her eyes water as her head felt heavy with the weight of such a tragedy. She closed her eyes as her knees weakened, allowing her to fall to the ground in a heap of sobs. 

"..Mama! Papa..!" she cried out, sounding like a child again. She shuddered as the servant walked toward her and knelt down, putting her hands over her shoulders.

"..Oh Princess," she said to herself. Outside the room, a band of servants began to hear the wails of the princess and burst through the doors into the room. 

"..Your highness!" One of them shouted. They all gathered around her and held her, one wiped her tears away as the other held her hand. They were all circled around her in a large group. 

"..My servants," she sobbed, "My only friends.." She leaned against one, still crying rather harshly. An hour later she sat on her bed alone. In the middle, to be exact. Her pink dress flown around her like a giant ring. From above she looked like the center of a giant flower. Lying in front of her on the bed was a ball of yarn, and in her hands she had needles, knitting away. This craft seemed to sooth her nerves whenever she felt anxious or scared. Slip knot after slip knot slid onto the needle as she began to cast the yarn. The second step was a little difficult, considering she was new to the craft. A servant of hers named Belinda had taught her this. She was old but played a role in Momo's life like a grandmother would have. The servants taught her many things since she wasn't allowed outside of the castle. They didn't send her off to school with the other children, instead they ordered an instructor to come and teach her. An old mean bastard at that. She didn't like him at all--behind her parents' back he'd ridicule and belittle her in such a threatening manner. This manner made her too intimidated to use her power against him. 

Her brown hair lied over her shoulders, straight down over her dress. It was very long and very straight. It wasn't dark nor light, but a dishwater colour. If it were any duller, people would have mistaken it for gray. Her hair; she had her mothers hair. Though her mother's hair was very fine, but unlike Momo, her eyes were green. Momo's eyes; they were like her father's--a deep brown.

Thinking of her own heritage she closed her eyes and let the needles fall into her lap. The room was empty, except for her pet JiJi-chan who lied on her bed, sleeping. She lifted her palms to her face and started crying again. The heaviness in her heart was so great that she felt the same way she did those many nights alone in her room. So lonely, no one to talk to. No one ever cared about her except for the servants. Unfortunately, in this world they weren't even considered people. And her parents, of course they cared but they were dead. 

_Dead, dead, dead! _

She shook her head and threw her hands down into her lap, knocking her needles away. Momo let out a loud cry and threw herself onto her bedspread and sobbed for a while. When she finally calmed down, she reached under her bed and lifted out some manga. The front of it had a voluptuous woman posing as one of the characters. Under the title it strictly said "For Adult Only", and the title itself was "Come Come Paradise." This kept her happy when she was lonely those nights when no one wished to talk to her or acknowledge her existence. 

In her own fantasies she had mixed this with the many characters and themes that went on in her fairy-tale books, excepting making herself the main character and playing out that role. It was like playing pretend with friends, except in her mind. She sighed, opening it up where she had left a book mark. Lying on her tummy she lifted her feet in the air as she always did when she read, and began letting her eyes succumb to the images. Of course, she hide this manga from her parents. Her mother would kill her for reading such vulgar material, and her father, would kill the servant boy who gave them to her. 

Momo sat up and looked around her room. It was empty and it was getting dark outside. She could hear the crickets sing as the crowd outside began to quiet down. They were talking about her parents' death all day. Don't these people have other things to do? Their lives to attend to? She sighed, looking at the two six inch stacks of "Come Come Paradise" that she had collected. She had liked the manga so much that she had went on a reading spree, reading every book she had collected from the beginning to the current issue. This always seemed to happen when she'd begin reading the manga. She'd read on issue, then end up reading it all over from the beginning.

Her friend even let her have his rare collectable "Come Come Paradise: Becoming One" issue. It was the thickest of them all, because it was a graphic novel. Like rare collectable manga was going to change anything. Her parents were still dead. Momo sighed, setting the last one on her second stack. 

"Whew," she said, hearing the door open. She turned her head, seeing it were Belinda. What a relief, she'd wanted to talk to her all day. "Is there something you need, Miss Belinda?"

Momo felt the bed somewhat sink as the old woman sat down. She looked at Momo with such desperation in her eyes that it literally worried the princess of the woman's present state. 

"..Oh, Princess," she said, putting her hands on her cheeks. "..Ye art so young.." 

Momo blinked, unsure of what to say to this. "..What are you talking about, Miss Belinda?" 

The woman looked at the girl, then to the door. She shut it quietly and sat back down, whispering. 

"..Thy own fate lies in me own hands, dear Momo. Ye are in trouble, Princess. Thy uncle was the one whom had ye parents assasinated." 

Momo looked away from her, with a gasp. Belinda took her hands away, taking Momo's into hers, lifting them up. 

"..We both know that ye uncle has always thought the throne to be his." Belinda tried to make eye contact with Momo, but she was still dazed with the news. "Yes, Yes, dear. Belinda knows what shock this is to ye, but we must get ye out of here--and soon. Thine own life is in danger--They are conspiring your demise as we speak." 

The princess looked up at her servant with watery eyes, "Whom?" asking desperately. "Whom is conspiring my death as of now?"

"Ye uncle and thy chancellor, dear." The news was so shocking, that Momo found it hard to believe. This was inconcievable for her. Someone whom she had trusted her entire life was now planning on killing her? Was it the wages? Had it been something her parents did to upset him? No, it couldn't have been any of them. Maybe it was a bribe her uncle had given the chancellor to take his side? This was all too confusing, but she knew she had better act quick or else she'd meet death face to face. There was definitely no way she'd want to meet her parents in hell--as of yet. 

"But the chancellor had told me he'd already sent a messenger to the local hidden village to bring me a bodyguard." 

"Aye, he may have said this--but as of a moment ago I had overheard him saying to ye uncle that he'd really gotten a jounin from the local hidden village to assasinate thee. But since when thy uncle has had enough money to pay for the help of a jounin, I know not." The old woman shook her head, patting Momo's hand gently. She got up and walked over to the external closet. It was a mere piece of armoire that held several dresses for the child. "..Ye must leave now, or else ye shalt meet thy death."

"Of course not," Momo said, standing up and following her servant around the room. "but--how do you explain where I am to go?"

"Belinda will explain that later," The old woman replied in a loud whisper, wrapping a scarf around the girl's neck and putting a cloak around her shoulders, pulling the hood over her head. "I will meet ye at sunrise at Konohagakure Village; the Hidden Leaf Village in the forest yonder across the Great Field. Until then, keep thy identity a secret--there are assassins everywhere yearning for ye head and the money bound to it."

"But Belinda--" Momo whimpered, being forced to slip some shoes on. Climbing over the balcony she began to climb down the old vines that grew on the wall of the castle. The slave threw a sling across the girl's shoulder that she had filled with food and clothing, not to mention a flask of water."..How will I know it is you?" 

"Ye will know," Belinda sighed softly, "Ye will know."


	2. Chapter Two

To Love A Shinobi:  
Momo's Story  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Naruto sat in his desk, staring at the ground. He was obviously not very happy. Anyone who made him wait this long deserved a slug in the face! All the other Genin students had left with their Jounin instructors already. Maybe he could kick Sasuke's ass while he were waiting. Swinging his head around in Sasuke's direction he about lifted his fist, then noticed Sakura stare down at her desk sadly. Geez, what's wrong with her? Naruto lowered his fist and zipped around Sasuke to sit down on the other side of Sakura.  
  
"Gee, why the long face Sakura-chan? Don't worry, when the instructor comes we can kick his ass for being late." Naruto grinned widely and cracked his knuckles, "Nihehehe.."  
  
"It's not that, Naruto," she began scooting further away from him, though slowly, "..Maybe since we're the worst team we got the worst instructor."  
  
"And who do you think that is?" Sasuke butted in, looking over at them with a cool stare. He didn't seem really interested in alot of things and he didn't look very bothered at the instructor being late. Sakura stared back at him and blushed, looking back down at the desk. She tried to use her bangs to cover her face. What if he saw her blushing?  
  
"..Well what I'm trying to say is," her eyes danced about the desk as Naruto got closer, listening in. "Maybe we never got an instructor."  
  
"What?!" Naruto jumped up, appearing very angry in the face. He could feel himself turning red with rage as he got away from his seat and walked over to the door. In his hand he had a chalk erasor, stepping on a chair and lifting it above the door, ready to set the booby-trap. "..That's crazy, Sakura-chan. I refuse to believe that. They wouldn't do that to us! If we were the worst we wouldn't have even graduated!"  
  
Sasuke just rolled his eyes with a small snort, watching Naruto. "Do you really think a Jounin will fall for that trap?" he asked, watching his teammate sit back down with that evil grin again. "You idiot, it's a simple chalk-erasor trap. If he knows you're going to be his student then he'll be ready for any of your stupid pranks.."  
  
Sakura sighed, staring down at her desk. She wondered who their instructor was and what he was like. Already had she forgotten his name. Iruka-sensei told them his name once or twice but it just wasn't coming to her. Who was this man and why the hell was he so late?  
  
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Outside the academy where our three heroes are waiting, it began to rain. Meanwhile, outside of the village in the forest was a figure walking around. It seemed to be walking around with wobbly legs, climbing over various roots and avoiding anything that represented a challenge before them. Holding the the sling close to her chest, she shivered, watching the rain causing the earth beneath her feet to become muddy. The cloak in which she wore was a light tan, though becoming brown due to water. Her breath was raggedy and sharp. Each inhale felt like icy death, cutting away at the back of her throat and lungs.  
  
Lying her hand against a tree, she could feel the wet bark against her palm. She stared down, the cloak covering her face. As she tried to catch her breath she felt something within her chest began to melt. Suddenly her hand began feeling very hot. The heat rushed down her arm through her wrist an made her palm burn against the tree.  
  
With a gasp, she jerked her arm away and stared down at her palm. She blew at it a bit, seeing it were burnt. The black began to wash away with the rain hitting it. The girl watched a symbol begin engraving into her palm. When it was finished, she traced the outlines with her fingertip. Every noise around her began to silence. All she could hear was the misty rush of rain through her ears and then nothing.  
  
"..Where have I seen that symbol before?" she muttered to herself, hearing a branch break. In surprise, she whirled around to see a man in a tree above her. Had he been watching her? As they made eye contact it seemed his gaze caused her hood to drop, revealing her face and hair. The rain had caused her hair to matt down against her skin, making herself barely recognizeable as a princess.  
  
She clenched her hand together, so he wouldn't see it. Holding it to her chest, he looked her up and down. She didn't seem like anyone he knew. The man wore a strange uniform. Could it have been the uniforms she'd read about in her textbook? They sure seemed similar.  
  
Oh! She knew he had to be a ninja just by seeing the hitai-ate band on his forehead. It covered one of his eyes and the mask covered the rest of his face. She understood that he needed to keep his identity secret but why the band over his eye? Perhaps he had a deformity..?  
  
The girl didn't seem like a threat so he turned away and leaped into another tree, disappearing in the rain. Momo blinked again, unsure of what to make of that. Seeing which direction he went, she began to follow. He must've been heading towards a hidden village if he were a ninja--right?  
  
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Hurrying down the hall, Kakashi tried to brush the water from his hair. His first impression on his students mattered most to him. Too bad he didn't know he was an hour late. The water dripped on the ground as he took each step. Reaching out for the doorhandle he stopped for a moment, rubbing the water out of his eyes. Kakashi pushed the door open hurriedly and the chalk-eraser fell from the door straight onto his head. It bounced off of his hair and hit his shoulder, landing on the ground.  
  
He sighed. He wasn't surprised by the prank, but then again, he wasn't expecting it either. Naruto bursted out laughing, pointing at Kakashi. Ha! He was wet too!  
  
"Nihehehe! I got you!" The young boy grinned widely, looking proud. Sasuke looked at Kakashi and rolled his eyes. Sitting in her desk, Sakura had her hand over her mouth giggling lightly, though Inner Sakura was rolling around in hysterical laughter. She too, pointed at him.  
  
"Y-You..hehe..You have chalk stains on your.." Sakura couldn't hold it in any longer. She lied her head in her arms and busted out laughing. Her pink hair was covering the area around the desk, and her shoulders were shuddering in amusement. Yes, Kakashi did have chalk stains on him. Some in his hair and most of it on his shoulder and vest. Again, he sighed, holding the doorhandle.  
  
The students settled down and watched him, grinning. Sasuke didn't look impressed at all.  
  
"Where the hell have you been?" Sasuke asked, frowning.  
  
"I was hired on a last-minute notice and the person I was assigned to wasn't even there."  
  
"..Assigned?" Sakura looked at Naruto. The blond boy just grinned, running a hand through his hair.  
  
"Who were ya supposed to assassinate??" Naruto pryed.  
  
"..Now that," Kakashi picked up the eraser and put it in its proper place. "is none of your business."  
  
Sasuke got out of his seat and walked toward the door and stopped next to Kakashi, pushing the door open even wider. "Can we just get on with this?" He said coldly, walking out of the classroom. Sakura frowned, not liking to see Sasuke-kun frustrated but she supposed that's just how he was. Getting up from her own seat she followed Sasuke out, Naruto following soon after. Kakashi sighed, scratching his head.  
  
"...This is going to take longer than I expected." He said, walking out himself. 


End file.
